​The Seahawks were acquired by a group led by Vinod Khosla, a minority owner of the 49ers, in a sale that set an NFL record for a change-of-control at 9.612 billion dollars. The league described the five-month process as “robust” in a memo distributed to all clubs on Saturday. While the exact terms of the deal were not released publicly, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to Front Office Sports that the sale price was 9.612 billion, surpassing the previous record of 6.05 billion set in 2023 when the Commanders were sold to a consortium led by Josh Harris. The transaction did not surpass the all-time high for any professional sports team sale, which remains the 10 billion-dollar valuation achieved when the Lakers were sold last year to a group headed by Mark Walter. Nonetheless, the Seahawks sale stands as the second-largest change-of-control transaction in professional sports history.
To finalize the deal, Khosla will be required to divest his minority stake in the 49ers, a stake he acquired as recently as last May. Vinod Khosla, founder of the venture-capital firm Khosla Ventures, carries a net worth of about 14 billion dollars, according to Forbes. His wife, Neeru Khosla, is set to serve as controlling owner, per a memo shared with NFL teams on Saturday that Front Office Sports obtained. The memo also notes that the couple’s son, Neal Khosla, will participate, expected to have a significant leadership role within the ownership group. “We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement announcing the deal. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”
Throughout the Seahawks sale process, interest levels varied among players and executives. Yet the league’s memo indicated that Allen & Company, the investment bank guiding the sale, reported “very robust interest” and that the Khosla group emerged as the club’s preferred buyer among multiple qualified bidders. At least four bids were submitted, and additional suitors expressed interest, according to several sources familiar with the process. The league’s finance committee will review the agreement next, after which the full group of NFL owners will vote on the deal, with a three-quarters majority needed for approval.
As previously reported by Front Office Sports on July 9, the competition ultimately narrowed to two groups: the Khosla-led consortium and another bid featuring former Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck with current Celtics minority investor Aditya Mittal. One source indicated that a former Seahawks player might join the Khosla group, though another source familiar with the sale process stated that they were not aware of any former Seahawks players partnering with the Khosla bid. No other members of the buying group have been disclosed.